----- Original Message -----
From: Blue Taz37
Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping
Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2000 4:49 PM
Subject: Update Va. Killer bees


Ok, Guys...A swarm of aggressive bees that killed a goat has been
indentified
as Africanized bees. They are also reluctant to speculate much on How
Africanized honeybees, an Ill-tempered hybrid of African bees, found their
way
to the area. They did say it had to be a case of "human-assisted transport".
or
hives hitching a ride on ships, tractor-trailers ( I-64 is about mile there)
and train cars.
They were apparently a mixed colony said Day, who explained that old,
abandoned
bee hives on Downey's property had been taken over by European honeybees.
The
Africanized bees were found "bearding" or hanging in a clump' outside the
hive.
" it appears that Africanized bees were taking over the European colony,"
said
Day. Back in January 96' said a swarm of Africanized honeybees was found in
Maine and traced back to a ship that had last docked in Norfolk, Va. Those
bees
were simply put outside, where they froze. Also said there have been four
human-assisted transports of Africanized bees in  the Midwest and
Mid-Atlantic
areas of the country since Jan. 2000. One in Huntington, West Va. involved a
hive found in a boxcar that came from San Antonio and is believed to have
originated in Brazil.
USDA officials said two nests were identified in Illinois, but Scott Frank
of
the Illinois Agriculture Department said one in Decatur involved bees that
were
already dead and he is unaware of a second finding.